Orchestra played Halloween music in the cafeteria before school to showcase their Halloween spirit.
Students such as sophomore Alp Sahin dressed up during the performance to showcase their Halloween spirit.
Sophomore Ryan Lee and senior Abigail So play Halloween songs before school.
Pressing down on the strings along the fingerboard, the violinists play the theme song from “Halloween” in the cafeteria.
Orchestra Director Julie Blackstock was in charge of organizing this event.
Bass players junior Tyler Mannis and sophomore Mehira Alla are the foundational instruments of the orchestra.
Sophomore Minseok Kim plays “Gargoyle.”
The orchestra used percussive elements such as pizzicato, stomping their feet, and screams to enhance their performance.
One of the songs orchestra performed was Gargoyles by Doug Spata.
Looking down at his sheet music, senior Mason Hou plays his violin during orchestra’s Halloween performance in the cafeteria before school on Oct. 31, 2023.
In honor of Halloween, campus looked and sounded a little different. With students wearing costumes and orchestra students performing Halloween songs before school and during lunch, the holiday’s spooky spirit came to life.
Students heard the orchestra play new and classic Halloween songs like “Gargoyle,”“Creatures,” “The Creepy Crawl,” “Rosen Eating Zombies from Outer Space,” “Ghostbusters,” and “Halloween Theme.”
I think the songs brought Halloween spirit because it helped set the spooky mood,
— sophomore Ramya Hariharan
“I think the songs brought Halloween spirit because it helped set the spooky mood,” sophomore Ramya Hariharan said. “I enjoyed hearing the screams [from the performance] because it was really funny and were a nice touch to add shock!”
According to Orchestra Director Julia Blackstock, this was the first time orchestra performed Halloween songs for students. Blackstock adopted this tradition from Reedy High School as a way for orchestra to have fun.
“My best friend is the orchestra director at Reedy High School,” Blackstock said. “He does it every year, and this year we had a little extra time after our fall concert, so I asked him to share his music with us so that we could have fun.”
Orchestra had a limited window for rehearsals, so students only ran through the pieces a couple of times, an aspect of the performance that junior Diya Ramesh found challenging.
“The most challenging aspect was since we didn’t prepare much beforehand, we made some mistakes during the performance,” Ramesh said.
However, Blackstock saw this challenge as an opportunity for orchestra students to learn new pieces quickly and practice sight reading.
I think it’s good for them to be able to learn new pieces quickly and sight read, and I think it’s nice to share with others. So I hope that the other students enjoy it,
— Orchestra Director Julia Blackstock
“It’s just fun to perform for your peers,” Blackstock said. “I think it’s good for them to be able to learn new pieces quickly and sight read, and I think it’s nice to share with others. So I hope that the other students enjoy it.”
While most students would not have enjoyed waking up earlier, Ramesh enjoyed having the opportunity to play for her peers.
“My favorite part was waking up early and coming in to play for you all,” Ramesh said.
Unlike typical orchestra performances, where audiences sit down to listen, students were able to stand up close to watch the performance.
“My favorite part was seeing everyone crowded around us and interested in our playing and laughing when we screamed,” senior Abigal So said.
